By Sarah McCrea
During the ANU’s appearance at the June 2026 Senate Estimates, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) was the main topic of discussion, in particular its involvement in the appointment process of the next Chancellor.
Acting Interim Chancellor, Andrew Metcalfe made the opening remarks. In a speech which was over eight minutes, he acknowledged “trust has been lost”. Commenting on the allegations made in the media against Interim Vice-Chancellor Rebekah Brown, Metcalfe told the Senate “We [the Council] have full confidence in her”.
He stressed that the Council supported the voluntary undertaking by TEQSA, and that the final decision would be for the Council.
“This has been a time of deserved scrutiny,” the Acting Chancellor stated. “There is now an opportunity, indeed the obligation, to significantly improve how the ANU is governed and led.”
And what does the way forward look like? According to Metcalfe, although there are decisions for the ANU that need to be made, they need to be made by the Council.
TEQSA and the Voluntary Undertaking
TEQSA has recently accepted a voluntary undertaking from the ANU involving the appointment process of the next ANU Chancellor (the terms of which can be found here). Agreed to by both parties during former Chancellor Bishop’s tenure, there has been extensive media coverage as to what degree the undertaking could be challenged legally and whether, as Bishop claimed, it is “regulatory overreach”.
In late May, The Saturday Paper reported that legal advice was given to Interim Vice-Chancellor Rebekah Brown which said the proposed undertaking was “unlawful”. According to the article, this was “withheld from Council”. The day prior, Metcalfe had sent an email on behalf of the ANU Council, making staff and students aware of an article’s release which would likely reference TEQSA and make allegations against Brown.
At Senate Estimates, Metcalfe said that three sources of legal advice were sought regarding the voluntary undertaking: from General Counsel from the University, from a former Council member, and from inquiries made by Brown.
In reference to the third, Metcalfe stated, “Advice that was provided to the Council became available to her after the Council had made its first decision… The issue was revisited on the 7th of May in a Council meeting as well and the Council confirmed that it wished to proceed with the arrangements”.
When asked if it was the position of all the Council members, or only the Council members that wouldn’t resign in days following, Metcalfe responded it was “certainly the majority”.
Senator Maria Kovacic suggested the ANU now lacked independence, in particular due to TEQSA’s involvement, which Metcalfe said he “completely rejected[ed]”.
TEQSA CEO Mary Russell, in TEQSA’s appearance at the Estimates, defended the agency against claims of interference. She claimed the ANU’s situation was “extraordinarily atypical to the extent of the scope, depth, and complexity of the governance concerns”. According to Russell, as a result, in this differing circumstance, TEQSA’s powers to produce information were alternate to the norm.
The Resignation Letters
On 7 May 2026, Julie Bishop would resign from her role as ANU Chancellor. In the following days, four more Council members would resign. During the Senate Estimates, the resignation letters of two of these Council members, Wayne Martin and Tanya Hosch, were first distributed and then tabled. The letters were tabled after the ANU had already appeared, and so ANU attendees were not questioned on the contents.
The departure of the Council members has been linked to the voluntary undertaking between TEQSA and the ANU on the appointment of the next ANU Chancellor, primarily through Bishop’s claims of “regulatory overreach”.
Former Council member Wayne Martin, resigned on 8 May. He alleged in his resignation letter, “the Council cannot nominate the so-called Council nominees on the Committee”, referring to the selection panel for the Chancellor appointment process. Professor Juliana Ng and Acting Chancellor Andrew Metcalfe are the two Council representatives on the selection panel. Martin objected to the use of the phrase “voluntary undertaking” for the appointment process, saying it was “obtained by coercive unlawful threats”.
”TEQSA has taken complete control”, he stated.
In his resignation letter, he referenced damage done to the ANU by “unidentified malicious actors within either the Council or staff of the University or quite possibly both”. Martin added that restoring the reputation of the University would be “much harder now that the Council has allowed TEQSA to unlawfully usurp Council’s role in the governance of the University“.
Former Council member Tanya Hosch also resigned on 8 May, citing in her resignation letter “a lack of due commitment and recognition of the importance and priority to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in decision making”.
Hosch, a Torres Strait Islander woman, stated she did not “accept it should be within the entire control of non Indigenous people to determine the criteria under which an Indigenous person can participate”.
Past, Present, and Future Reports
In early May, a report from Dr Vivienne Thom found one instance of “maladministration in relation to the ANU complaint handling process for Council members” and five “adverse findings in relation to former Council members in respect of their conduct as Council members”.
In the Senate Estimates, Metcalfe confirmed that the report will not be made public. He did disclose, when questioned, if there were any findings against Bishop, Bell, or other recently resigned Council members in the report. He repeated the statement made by the Council on 8 May, that the findings are “in relation to former Council members”.
More recently, a Comcare report into workplace health and safety during Renew ANU investigated concerns of psychosocial risks, primarily at the College of Arts and Social Sciences.
In response, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Michael Schwager, said that since the Nixon Review, the ANU has been looking at “strengthening our approach” and being “more consultative and attuned to work health and safety across the board”. He acknowledged there is “more work to do”.
As a Commonwealth entity, TEQSA also appears at the Senate Estimates. During its appearance, TEQSA CEO Dr Mary Russell provided an update on the review Lynelle Briggs is undertaking on the ANU’s governance. Russell clarified Briggs’ work is part of a wider compliance assessment being completed by TEQSA. The completed Briggs report, if released, would not be released until the broader TEQSA assessment and report has been finalised, in the interests of “procedural fairness”.
Although expected to be completed far earlier, Russell revealed that TEQSA was aiming to have the wider report completed by July. At first only examining Renew ANU, she stated they were then investigating ““ongoing serious governance concerns”, which extended the timeline.
It is also uncertain whether or not the report will be made public, with Russell saying this would be up to consultation with the TEQSA Commissioners and the ANU.
Misconduct Investigation into Former VC Bell
Senator David Pocock also questioned the ANU on an investigation into former Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell concerning potential misconduct. According to Metcalfe, the decision for the inquiry was made by the Council.
Earlier this year, there were several media reports around Bell reportedly being involved in the promotion of her friend, Andrew Meares, allegedly against the advice of the university’s promotion panel. This included reports she had been barred from campus and stopped from speaking to students, staff, and Council members.
By early May, multiple articles reported that the investigation was concluded, with one article stating, “multiple sources at ANU cleared Bell of misconduct”.
However, at the Senate Estimates, Metcalfe revealed that the final report had only been received by the Council on Tuesday 2 June. The Council was provided with advice from the General Counsel to the University that “summarised” the report and the decision made by the investigator, around the time the decision was made.
When asked if the findings of the report differed from what had been leaked from the media, Metcalfe said he was “really reluctant to go into this” and that the Council was “now considering the material that was provided to them”.
It was confirmed former Chancellor Julie Bishop, during her tenure as Chancellor, had been in contact with Bell about the investigation. Metcalfe referenced having seen a letter on the outcome of the investigation sent from Bishop to Bell “ahead of the Council receiving the summary from the chief General Counsel”.
Metcalfe appeared reluctant to table the report or discuss its findings.
More to come.
Graphics by Will Novak
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